


The Best Way

by Leidolette



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-16 20:25:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1360606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leidolette/pseuds/Leidolette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jade was a girl in love. </p><p>Unfortunately, Nepeta and Feferi were the ones who had to put up with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [homostriders](https://archiveofourown.org/users/homostriders/gifts).



"So glad you managed to get our same table from last year, Feferi!" Jade flopped down on the same seat she had occupied just months ago and spread her lunch out on the table -- a bright assortment of fruit and slightly undercooked meat.

"Right by the window! We have the best view of the outside," Nepeta said. "And the chirp beasts." Her eyes flicked back and forth like a wall clock as she watched sparrows flit around the trees in the school yard.

"Whellllllk," Feferi drew out, looking sheepish. "There _may_ have been a freshman or two here when I arrived. But I just poked them a little with my trident and they wandered off. A very small poke," she stressed when Jade raised her eyebrows.

Jade shrugs. "Soooo, first-day-of-school sleepover tonight?"

"Let's do it at my house this year!" Nepeta said as she set her own lunch down on the table. The strange smell of grubloaf and chocolate pudding rose up from her tray. Jade watched impassively as Nepeta called her claws up and quickly slit the grub from top to bottom -- she had long since grown used to troll eating habits. After watching Feferi eat live spiderfrye by the handful, everything else was tolerable by comparison. At least the grub was already dead. 

"I got a bunch of movies too," Nepeta continued. "Homeward Bound, Free Willy, Milo and Otis, Cats Don't Dance, and like six hours of Planet Earth." She lists each film off on her fingers. "Oh, and we can try to put Feferi's hair into a fishtail braid again. I found a Youtube tutorial specifically for seadweller hair." 

"Your hair is impossible to do anything with," Jade complained. "There's sooo much of it. And sometimes I feel like it's alive and grabbing at my fingers?"

Feferi smiled sweetly at Jade as her hair seemed to get even bigger.

"Oh purrlease, you two _both_ have ridiculous hair," Nepeta said. "If you were sensible, you'd have short, easily groomable hair. Like mine." She licked the back of her hand and ran it across her bangs that escaped from the bottom of her hat. The cafeteria began to echo with background conversation as more students filled up the space. No one batted an eye at Nepeta's actions.

Jade, Nepeta, and Feferi were lucky that their high school was not quite as cruel as the ones usually featured in movies or TV, because the three of them took part in some strange activities that surely would have gotten them ostracized in the world of Pretty Little Liars or Glee. As it was, any school that tolerated Equius just shrugged off whatever stuff anybody else was into. 

And when you are part of a group of friends that regularly dresses up as their favorite animals and visits the zoo, you have to be thankful for that. 

"I'll bring the food," Feferi volunteered. "And don't worry, I'll limit the anchovies to just half a pizza this time. How does that Puget Sound to you, Jade?"

There's a long pause at the table.

"Jade?"

Jade was twisted away from the table, her eyes across the room. "Hey," she said, her eyes squinting a bit behind her glasses. "Is that Dave?"


	2. Fallout

In kindergarten, Jade, Nepeta, and Feferi were assigned to the same table during arts and crafts time. It was the friendship version of "meet cute" and after that the three were practically inseperable.

In fourth grade, Nepeta's love of cats became so extreme that she only spoke in meows of various pitches for three days. They got over it.

In seventh grade, Feferi attempted to steal an aquarium full of goldfish in order to "raise them", and got them all a lifetime ban from Petsmart. They got over it.

The last fight they had gotten into was an hour long argument about who's turn it was to take home the pile of old Zoobooks they had bought from a garage sale. They got over it.

In short, Jade, Feferi, and Nepeta had been very good friends for a very long time.

And it wasn't until the first semester of junior year in high school that anything challenged that. It may not be so surprising to those familiar with such stories that the biggest threat to their friendship was a teenage boy.

Dave came back from summer vacation looking no different to the rest of the world, but spectacularly, wonderfully different to Jade. It wasn't his physical appearance, really. His freckles had darkened over the last couple months, that was about it. Nor was it his personality that had changed, he still wrote electronic tunes inspired by half-squashed birds he had seen on the side of the road the day before. In fact, it wasn't anything new about Dave at all -- it was Jade. Something inside Jade had shifted, and all the pieces of attraction fell into place. Jade and Dave had always been friends, of course, and maybe Jade had felt the occasional flicker of a crush over the years, but now the curve of his chin and his rapid fire instant messages had her mesmerized. 

Jade was a girl in love. 

Unfortunately, Nepeta and Feferi were the ones who had to put up with it. 

And if it was just Jade talking about Dave a lot, then they could deal. It was abundantly obvious that they weren't innocent when it came to latching onto a subject with a fervor. 

But it was more than that. Dave seemed just as interested in Jade as she was in him. Talking about Dave a lot slowly turned into hanging out with Dave a lot, which then became hanging out with Dave _all the time_. 

This was not _entirely_ unprecedented behavior for Jade. She would occasionally go through spells where she completely immersed herself in one project or another. When Jade's massive, do-it-yourself greenhouse kit finally came in the mail Feferi and Nepeta did not hear from Jade outside of school for a whole week. After making a breakthrough on her dreambot's flight gyroscope she had practically disappeared too. It was fine, though. After a little while, Jade would settle down and incorporate her new interest into her routine. Things would go back to normal.

But this was different. Dave was a person, not a hobby, and things did not seem like they were going back to normal. An absent Jade felt like the new routine.

And it happened so gradually that Jade didn't even notice it. 

First, she canceled movie plans with Nepeta to help Dave. She and Nepeta could go to the movies anytime, but Dave needed her help right then. 

Then she stopped sitting with them at lunch. They've been sharing a lunch table since second grade, isn't she allowed to mix it up a little? Besides, she didn't have too many classes with Dave and it was nice to see him during the day. 

And then she missed Feferi's birthday. She just plain forgot. That's when the excuses stopped. 

Jade found herself checking her phone and realizing that she hadn't called Nepeta or Feferi in over two weeks. The last text she'd gotten from Nepeta was one asking Jade what she was going to give Feferi for her birthday. Jade had never replied, she had gotten distracted. She couldn't even remember stopping to say 'hi' in the halls lately. Jade slowly lowered her phone.

Her friends had lost faith in her.

What was she going to do?

\----

What she was going to do was get some advice.

Despite being practically joined at the hip to Nepeta and Feferi throughout their formative years, Jade _had_ managed to make other friends. And it was time to draw upon their wisdom now to figure out just how she was going to repair her relationships.

"Are they going on a trip soon? You could stop them just before they board the plane, after leading the security guards on a big chase of course, and then get down on your knees while opening a pizza box with M&Ms spelling out the word 'sorry'. Oh, and "Hey Jealously" by The Wallflowers probably should be playing the entire time." John thought for a second, then nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Jade stared.

Okay, maybe going to John for advice hadn't been the smartest move.

But though Jade hadn't spent half her childhood with a terrible movie playing in the background like John had, even she had absorbed the idea that a big wrong required a big gesture of apology. She found herself considering the idea.

"John! Come on, nobody is flying anywhere. But I guess you're right. Maybe I _should_ do something big and meaningful to say I'm sorry?" She trailed off, thinking about the possibilities.

"Jade, of course you need to do this. The only question is this: do you have to have to be over eighteen to hire a mariachi band so you can sing an apology serenade?"

Just then, the Pesterchum app on Jade's phone started to beep. Jade fished it out of the pocket of her skirt. 

TT: I have been informed that you are currently soliciting John for advice about friendship. I assume he has informed you of the usual cinematic cliches?

GG: yep :/

"Are you two talking about me?" John's eyes were narrowed in suspicion. Jade waved a hand at him.

TT: May I suggest a more classical route?

GG: oh?

TT: How about a letter. Handwritten, of course. It might be easier to express all of your feelings on paper. Less chance of an unfortunate foot-in-mouth incident.

That... actually sounded really nice! Maybe there was some way to combine Rose and John's approach.

GG: rose!!!! you need to be here right now so i can give you the biggest thank you nuzzle!

TT: I am on my way.

\----

Jade decided to start with Nepeta. Maybe she will be an easier nut to crack since it wasn't _her_ birthday that Jade had accidentally ignored. Jade poured out all her feelings onto the one page letter: how much she misses the three of them as a group, their sleepovers that lasted the entire weekend, how painful it is to see them sitting at their usual lunch table without her. 

Jade wrote this all with a calligraphy pen on an olive green sheet of stationary (Nepeta's favorite color). Her handwriting flowed across the paper in curlicues and exclamation points. Finally she finished, and began carefully folding the parchment into a paper airplane. The method of delivery had to count for a couple style points, right? Plus, Nepeta always did like batting at anything that moved.

Chemistry class was probably the best time to deliver the letter, Jade decided. She sat several rows behind Nepeta and would have straight shot right to her desk. The teacher was getting increasingly apathetic to class shenanigans too as her retirement neared. Gamzee had spent an entire class period last week messily applying his face paint and she had hardly glanced over at him.

Jade arrived to chemistry early, and as the rest of the class shuffled in she tried to catch Nepeta's eye. Nepeta, though, was resolutely picking at the long sleeve of her coat and refused to acknowledge the plaintive look. Jade frowned.

The class seemed to drag on and on as she waited for the teacher to turn her back. Nepeta had not glanced behind her once the entire time. Finally, she had her shot.

The paper bounced off the back of Nepeta's head and then changed course to glide out the open window. Nepeta turned around and frowned when she caught Jade staring at her. Jade tried to make an apologetic face, but Nepeta just turned back around and resolutely ignored her again.

Jade sighed and put her head down on her desk for the rest of class.

\----

Unbeknownst to Jade, her letter of apology was still on the move. It lazily did a couple of graceful loop-de-loops in the mild October air before coming to rest near the flag pole. A few moments passed, and then a small hand encased in hard, black chitin reached down to pick it up.

The Mayor did not unfold the airplane right away; first, he admired it. The paper really was a very attractive shade of green.

Then he nibbled on it for a while, before finally opening it. He spread out the crinkled paper and began to read. 

The heartfelt words of friendship and apology washed over the Mayor in a warm wave. He is touched! He will be this mysterious person's friend!

Mind made up, the Mayor folded the letter and tucked it into a fold in his sash. He set off for home feeling good about his decision. Sometimes executive action must be taken, it was the burden of any duly elected leader.

\----  
Jade was not about leave the success of her next grand gesture up to the fickle winds of fate. This time she enlisted a partner. 

Dave was easy to recruit, as they were dating and already spent basically all of their time together. It also helped that he had the most massive heart-boner for her.

The whole plan crashed and burned in less than an hour. 

By the end, Jade watched as a soaking wet, furious Feferi stomped down the hallways and was left crouching on the tiled floor at the edge of the pool with a similarly wet and slightly traumatized Dave. 

"Oh, Dave, here," she said as she handed him a towel. He buried his face in it and rubbed vigorously. When he brought his head back up his blond hair was stuck up in a million directions. Jade let out a short laugh despite her mounting frustration and his still shell-shocked expression, and gently combed her fingers over his head, pushing all the strands back down. He leaned into it.

"Hey, Jade, remind me never to get near a sea troll and water ever again 'kay?" he mumbled as Jade slid his sunglasses back onto his face. "That was seriously ridiculous, and I live with my bro, so I know ridiculousness."

"Thanks for trying to help me out anyways," Jade said, feeling a little tired. She couldn't believe that she had just alienated Feferi and Nepeta even more.

"Got to. You're my girl," he said, like that explained everything.

Jade smiled, then sighed. "Okay, I'm gonna call my grandpa to come pick us up." She reached and then realized that she was wearing one of her few skirts without pockets. "Oh damn, where did I set my phone?"

Dave's face went blank (well, blank _er_ ) as he pulled a sodden mass out of his pants pocket. It was Jade's phone. A trickle of water ran off the screen.

Jade took a leaf out of Rose's (very loquacious) book and screamed her frustration into a convenient towel. Dave winced and gingerly patted her shoulder.

\----

Jade gazed longingly over at the lunch table where Feferi and Nepeta talked over their grub tots. Jade pushed her own tater tots around on her plate half-heartedly. She glanced over at Dave -- he seemed to be catching her misery. 

_This has to stop,_ she thought.

She stood up in the middle of lunch and walked silently and deliberately over to them. Nepeta and Feferi slowly realized that she was approaching curiously turn to look at her, but they didn't greet her. Jade didn't stop there, though, she stepped on a chair, and then climbed on top of the lunch table, her foot planted dangerously close to Nepeta's apple fritter.

"That is not sanitary!" Equius shouted from the lunch line, instantly starting to get sweaty and agitated over the breach of propriety. Somebody shushed him.

"I don't care!" Jade shouted. "I only care that it feels like there's a wall between me and my two best friends!"

Jade then proceeded to give the most ridiculous speech than anyone in the room had ever heard. It was full of warm, mushy feelings about friendship and forgiveness, about beating hearts and growing up together. She told the entire school about movie nights, and role playing, and shared dreams of attending Anthrocon. The speech was long, Jade felt like she had been up here forever. If Jade had any secrets left, from her friends or the school, then she didn't know what they were.

By the end of it, Jade could feel hot tears in her eyes. 

The only movement Jade saw was an enthusiastic thumbs-up coming from John. For a moment, the whole cafeteria was silent. She could feel everyone staring, but Jade only had eyes for Nepeta's shocked face and Feferi's wide eyes. She held her breath.

"Get the fuck down before you fall and break your fragile human spine!" yelled Karkat from a couple tables down. Jade threw a half-peeled banana at his head before Nepeta and Feferi pulled her down and to envelop her into the biggest bear hug she's ever gotten.


End file.
